How Not to Create Customer Satisfaction

Given a choice, most people would rather have happy, satisfied customers than angry, complaining customers. But how to create customer satisfaction is sometimes a mystery. In this column, Naomi Karten describes one person's experience that backfired and taught him some lessons.

During one of my seminars, we were discussing experiences people had in striving to create customer satisfaction. Striving might have been just the right word, because as reported by Josh, a seminar participant, you can strive and still not succeed. As Josh described it, in reviewing his customers' specs, he saw a way to give them something much better than what they had asked for. So he proceeded to build his own grand solution.

One minor detail: He didn't let his customers know he was doing this.

In listening to Josh, I sensed that as he developed this solution, he was pleased with himself for his insight, creativity, and initiative. And his customers would, of course, be pleased with him as well. But when he presented his solution to Ginny, his key customer contact, she rejected it outright. "It's not what we asked for," she told him. End of discussion.

"Why even bother trying to please them?" Josh asked, agitatedly. "You go above and beyond and they're still not happy."

But might there have been some other explanation for Ginny's reaction? As quickly as I asked the group what they thought, several possibilities surfaced as to why the customer rejected his solution.

One possibility concerns surprises. Namely that many people don't like them. When suddenly confronted by something other than what they were expecting, they may reject it, belittle it, or find fault with it. I can almost imagine Ginny shouting, "You what?" If customers ask for A, and with no advance notice you deliver B, don't expect them to jump up and down with glee.

A related possibility is that of wanting to be involved in key decisions. Often it's not the solution that customers reject, but rather the fact that they had no say in its formulation. Not having had a chance to provide input, they may react negatively to a solution they might otherwise have welcomed. At that point, even the most compelling benefits may not make a difference; rejecting a superior solution delivered unexpectedly is an emotional response, not a logical one.

Clearly, Josh would have been much wiser to describe his solution to his customers before proceeding. At that stage, he could have presented it as an idea, not a done deal. He might have offered it as a proposal and sought their opinion. He could have cited the benefits they hoped to achieve and shown how his solution could go even further in achieving those same benefits. Under these circumstances, his customers might have loved his idea and given him their go-ahead.

But even if they still favored Plan A, they might have been impressed with his initiative. Furthermore, by accepting their preference for the original plan, he would have shown himself to be flexible and easy to work with, factors that could enhance his reputation.